Beyhaqi, Father of Persian Prose, Celebrated in Sabzevar

Date: 22 October 2025 - 21:53

News ID: ۱۴۴۹۵۲

TEHRAN -- In Sabzevar, a city quietly resting some two hundred and thirty kilometers west of Mashhad, the fifteenth national commemoration of Abu’l-Fazl Beyhaqi unfolded with a measured reverence.
At Hakim Sabzevari University, scholars and officials gathered Wednesday not merely to honor a historian, but to acknowledge the roots of Persian prose itself—a lineage stretching back to the fifth century AH and embodied in the work of Beyhaqi, who has long been deemed the father of Persian prose.
Born in 385 AH in the small village of Harethabad, Beyhaqi’s life was marked by service and strife. His tenure within the Ghaznavid court was shadowed by political intrigue; he rose to a prominent administrative position only to fall victim to envy, spending years in exile and confinement before passing away in 470 AH.
Yet, through these trials, he composed Tarikh-e Beyhaqi, a historical narrative distinguished by its literary elegance and precise attention to detail.
Dr. Muhammad Jafar Yahaghi, a member of the Persian Academy, spoke of Beyhaqi’s legacy as more than historical record—it is a cultural cornerstone.
His prose, Yahaghi explained, offers fertile ground for contemporary dramatists and artists, the vivid scenes and carefully rendered characters inviting reinterpretation on stage and screen.
This dimension of Beyhaqi’s work underscores a vital truth: Persian prose, long overshadowed by epic poetry, contains within it a dramatic and theatrical richness that continues to inspire.
The association of Beyhaqi’s work with Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh reflects a complementary balance in Persian literature—one of poetry, the other prose—each contributing profoundly to the nation’s literary heritage.
Mahmoud Shalou’i, head of Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries, praised Beyhaqi as a historian committed to fairness, whose narratives maintained fidelity to truth amid courtly tumult.
Plans to erect a monument in Sabzevar signal a commitment to preserving Beyhaqi’s memory and fostering a deeper public engagement with his work.
The commemoration, spanning academic talks, readings, and workshops, points toward an embrace of multidisciplinary approaches, including theater and cinema, to revitalize this classical text for younger audiences.